10 Best Comedy Movie Twist Endings, Ranked
Most of the time, twist endings can be found in thrillers or works of horror, given an unexpected ending is a good way to shock, unnerve, or otherwise deliver some kind of final punch to the viewer. You’ve got the likes of Se7en, The Sixth Sense, and Shutter Island, for just a few examples, as movies that function as thrillers (in one way or another) featuring ending twists.
But twist endings aren’t confined to such a genre, since comedies can also end in unexpected ways that prove either funny or uncomfortable, or maybe even both at once. Some of these movies can also be called thrillers in some ways, but all fit within the confines of the comedy genre, too, and naturally all do something wild or unexpected right at the end of their respective runtimes.
Because endings are being discussed here, this article will contain spoilers.
10
‘Il Sorpasso’ (1962)
Directed by Dino Risi
Il Sorpasso is probably the most obscure movie on this ranking, being an arthouse dramedy more than 60 years old that is still something of a classic as far as Italian cinema goes. It’s got an offbeat sense of humor and tells an initially simple story about a law student and a slightly older man who strike up a friendship of sorts and travel around the countryside.
Things fall apart gradually, and what’s breezy soon morphs into something a little more dramatic. Still, the ending of Il Sorpasso is disarming, even compared to what came before, since things conclude with the two main characters getting into a jarring car accident that sees the younger man dying abruptly, and the older man left to come to terms with what he’s done. Suddenly, the English translation of the title, The Easy Life, feels especially ironic.
9
‘Evil Dead II’ (1987)
Directed by Sam Raimi
Seeing the progression of the Evil Dead movies (well, the first three) honestly never gets old. Things begin with a straightforward horror film in the form of The Evil Dead, and then things conclude with a slapstick fantasy movie that has very little horror, in Army of Darkness. In between those two is Evil Dead II, which functions as both a comedy and a horror film at the same time.
Evil Dead II ends in a way that, naturally, sets up Army of Darkness, though it’s very unexpected if you don’t know about the setting of that third movie. Ash is transported back in time to the Dark Ages unexpectedly, and is seemingly stuck there… though for better or worse, those he encounters seem to treat him as some kind of messiah. What a cliffhanger, in all honesty.
8
‘Clue’ (1985)
Directed by Jonathan Lynn
So, Clue is kind of based on the board game of the same name, but it takes the characters found there and does something interesting with them. Also, it retains the murder mystery-ness of it all and the notion that everyone can be a suspect, but then it also gets very goofy and proves surprisingly breezy for a movie that’s all about murder.
Clue does end up working better as a comedy than a mystery movie, perhaps, but the way it ends is novel, given it can end in three different ways. Any ending for a film like this is likely to be a twist of some sort, but the real twist here, that sets Clue apart, is the fact there are three endings, and even if it’s arguably gimmicky, it remains neat.
7
‘After Hours’ (1985)
Directed by Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese tends to know how to end his movies, and After Hours is no exception. It doesn’t even need a big ending, given this is a film all about the journey rather than the destination. Like, the journey is chaotic, anxiety-inducing, and also darkly funny, following one man as he has a nightmarish night in Scorsese’s favorite city: New York.
The twist here might well be that the protagonist survives the whole ordeal, really. After everything that could go wrong does go wrong, he ends up right back where he started the following morning: in his office, clearly shattered, but there nonetheless to start a new day. It’s a bit cruel he’s thrown there and if you’re cynical, maybe it signifies the nightmare continues… but hey, at least he wasn’t killed by his awful night. That’s something of a surprise, in any event.
6
‘Time Bandits’ (1981)
Directed by Terry Gilliam
The first Terry Gilliam movie worth mentioning here is Time Bandits, which functions as a comedy, a time travel film, and a fantasy/adventure movie all at once. The protagonist here is a young boy who’s taken on a dizzying journey by six dwarfs, all of whom are going through time trying to steal various riches from different points in history.
Along the way, there are tons of recognizable actors who show up, and though it’s a bit twisted in that Gilliam sort of way, the tone is generally light-hearted. But Time Bandits does have one super odd ending that’s kind of fitting with the style of the rest of the movie, but does also stand out as pretty dark and confusing, even considering the premise and director at hand. The young kid’s parents explode, Sean Connery is a winking firefighter, the kid’s left alone and without a house… it’s weirdly bleak.
5
‘Brazil’ (1985)
Directed by Terry Gilliam
Unlike Time Bandits, Terry Gilliam’s Brazil is a bit darker throughout, to the point where you could say that the very bleak ending is less unexpected. Perhaps a little like After Hours (released the same year), the protagonist in Brazil is in a constant fever dream-like state, with confusing things and bad luck all compounding and making his life more and more like some kind of living hell.
Still, there’s a twist ending here on account of the movie’s climax going on for a very long time, all the while trying to convince you that things have turned around and that the main character has escaped the nightmare he’s been stuck in. Though it ends up not being so easy, given that the whole climax turns out to be a fantasy, and he’s actually lost his mind and is in a far worse place. Cut to credits.
4
‘Dirty Mary Crazy Larry’ (1974)
Directed by John Hough
So, as mentioned before, Il Sorpasso had a pretty sudden bleak ending that saw one of the two main characters dying. The awfully-titled (but quite fun) Dirty Mary Crazy Larry takes a similar sort of approach, seeing as it also has an abrupt and fatal car crash, but it’s even more sudden here, and the death count is ultimately higher.
All three main characters have seemingly evaded the cops, but then they pass in front of an oncoming train, their car explodes, they die instantly, and then the end credits start rolling hilariously fast. It’s such a jarring ending, but it works, and was admittedly sort of set up at the start of the movie, what with an early focus on shots of trains. Oh, and the fact that the main characters have been driving recklessly all movie. Their luck finally runs out, and once it does, the movie’s instantly over.
3
‘The Graduate’ (1967)
Directed by Mike Nichols
The Graduate is one of the best coming-of-age movies set outside high school, with the protagonist here, probably unsurprisingly, being a young man who’s recently graduated from college. He has no idea what to do with his life, and he ends up starting a risky affair with an older woman… well, more specifically, the mother of the young woman his parents ultimately want him to end up with.
Eventually, he decides he wants to be with her after all, and he crashes her wedding before the two of them run off together, boarding a bus and looking ecstatic at first. But then reality sets in, their expressions change, and suddenly, the rush of the climax turns, and The Graduate inevitably ends in a solemn and uncertain way. It’s very fitting for the movie as a whole, but nonetheless does prove surprising when you first see the film.
2
‘The Return of the Living Dead’ (1985)
Directed by Dan O’Bannon
For a good chunk of its runtime, The Return of the Living Dead is an exceptionally entertaining zombie movie, and a skillful blend of gory horror and dark comedy. It does therefore have a cynical edge to it throughout, and definitely before the ending, but it’s that ending that takes things to another level and puts this one in the territory of all-time bleak zombie movies.
And sure, zombie movies have upsetting endings sometimes, but in The Return of the Living Dead, a town is nuked to stop the spread of a zombie virus, and then that explosion is shown to have no effect in actually stopping the spread. Pretty much everyone dies for nothing, and those who aren’t dead at the film’s conclusion probably don’t have much longer to live in any event. Yay.
1
‘Being There’ (1979)
Directed by Hal Ashby
A deliberately paced film that expertly blends the comedy and drama genres, Being There is a film that shows another side to Peter Sellers, given he has more to do here than just be funny. He plays a gardener who has little idea about how the world functions, but finds himself having to survive in it after his elderly employer passes away suddenly.
He finds himself rising through life unexpectedly, though, given so many people around him believe he has immense knowledge and wisdom he doesn’t actually seem to have… or does he? The ending says he probably does, given he’s shown to walk on water out of nowhere, and then the film ends. It’s fitting, odd, and even a little ominous all at once, and is understandably regarded as perhaps the most memorable moment of Being There.
